RHS cross country tracks state titleWinning the 6A-East Conference championship was a nice stop on the way to the state title for the Russellville Cyclones cross country team. “It was one of our goals when we began the season but, of course, the big one is still ahead of us,” Cyclones head coach John Frazier said. The Cyclones topped Mountain Home and Searcy on Tuesday at Old Post Park for the championship — two teams they’ll see again at the state meet on Nov. 9 at Oaklawn Park...

River Valley Glance — Wildcats looking ‘Mighty’Business as usual • Hector Wildcats — There’s a “Mighty Ducks” feeling when you watch the Hector Wildcats. They’re the good guys in the Disney sports movie. Who’s the bad guy? I don’t know. Dierks, maybe? The Wildcats claimed the 2A-4 Conference title with their 45-14 win over the Decatur Bulldogs on Friday. From here? Who knows? I feel confident we will be watching the Wildcats play through November. • Lamar Warriors — Last week I pondered ho...

RJHS chooses Colors Day CourtThe Russellville Junior High School (RJHS) East and West Whirlwinds selected 20 students to represent them as members of the 2013 Colors Day Court. The Colors Day assembly will be conducted at 2:10 p.m. on Nov. 7 in the RJHS gymnasium. The Colors Day king and queen will be crowned during the assembly and presented during the final East versus West Colors Day game later that evening. The presentation of king and queen is scheduled at 6:30 p.m.,...

Gators earn playoff spotBISMARCK — The Two River Gators secured their spot in the Class 3A state playoffs for the first time since moving into the 3A classification. The Gators defeated the Bismarck Lions 35-25 in Bismarck on Friday. “It was a really big win for us,” Two Rivers (5-3, 3-2 3A-5 Conference) head coach Josh Harrison said. “It put us in the playoffs at either the No.4 seed or the No.5 seed.” The seeding will be determined next week when the Gators take on...

Cyclones blow past Warriors 42-8LITTLE ROCK — About the only thing the Russellville Cyclones did wrong Friday night was suffer a couple of fumbles to the Little Rock Hall Warriors, but it didn’t matter at Scott Field. Russellville pretty much did what it wanted in its 42-8 7A/6A-Central Conference victory over the Warriors, who lost their 24th consecutive football game. This was also a good tune-up for next week’s home game against Fort Smith Southside, which lost to Greenwo...

Sand Lizards snap 2-game losing skidSUBIACO — After going blow-for-blow with Subiaco Trojans and coming up short in the first half, the Dardanelle Sand Lizards scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter during their 41-20 win over the Trojans on Friday in Subiaco. Despite the lopsided scoreboard, Subiaco was only seven points behind until the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter when Dardanelle running back T.J. Tucker made it 34-20 on a 4-yard trot into the end zone. On the first...

Wildcats close in on 2A-4 Conference titleDECATUR — The Hector Wildcats can do no worse than tie for the 2A-4 Conference championship after their 45-14 win over the Decatur Bulldogs on Friday. The Wildcats will enjoy a bye week next Friday, but even if they lose to the Johnson County Westside Rebels in their last game of the regular season, they have secured the No.1 seed in the playoffs and at least a tie for the conference championship. Hector (7-1, 6-0 2A-4 Conference) held the Bul...

Pottsville Apaches lose first game of seasonMAUMELLE — Both the host Maumelle Hornets and Pottsville Apaches entered Friday night’s football game unbeaten in 4A-4 Conference play, but that would change with 1:09 to play in the fourth quarter. Two last-minute touchdowns by Maumelle spelled defeat for Pottsville, which lost its first game of the season 29-18 to the Hornets. After Pottsville (7-1, 4-1 4A-4 Conference) regained the lead 18-17, Maumelle (7-1, 5-0) immediately answered by goi...

Golden Suns down Oklahoma CityOKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Junior Emily Todd led the team with 17 kills and 15 digs, while sophomore Katie Huff finished with a .546 hitting percentage having ten kills on 19 attempts as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns volleyball team (16-9) swept Oklahoma City University (16-10) 3-0 Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena. “For the second consecutive match, we dominated offensively,” ATU head coach Kristy Bayer said. “We were able to pull through in fro...

Junior Sand Lizards demolish Trinity 41-0DARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Junior Sand Lizards displayed a dominating performance Thursday as they obliterated the Fort Smith Trinity Catholic Buffaloes 41-0 at Keenan Field. Dardanelle (6-1-1, 4-1 4A-4) ran only two plays on offense in the first quarter. However, the Junior Sand Lizards led 20-0 going into the second. Dardanelle did not face second down until 5:59 was left in the second quarter. The Junior Sand Lizards did not face a single ...

Lady Whirlwinds win their 3rd meetHOT SPRINGS — The Russellville High School Cyclones and Lady Cyclones and Russellville Junior High Whirlwinds and Lady Whirlwinds cross country teams competed in the 2013 Lake Hamilton Invitational held at Oaklawn on Saturday. The Lady Whirlwinds won in the 2-mile run. Sylvia Nupp came in 10th place with a time of 14:20. Anna Sykes places 13th with a time of 14:24. Madelyn Hubbard ran to a 22nd place finish with a time of 14:42. Libby Bailey c...

Junior Panthers beat RJHS EastThe Russellville Junior High Eastside Whirlwinds continued their eight-game skid on Thursday with a 26-14 loss to the Greenbrier Junior Panthers. Eastside (0-8, 0-5 River Valley Conference), whose only win in two years was against the Russellville Junior High Westside Whirlwinds, may find themselves in a similar situation this year with no wins and the East-West game looming in Week 10. Greenbrier scored five plays into its first possession an...

Fayetteville AD accused of internet stalking FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — The athletic director at Fayetteville High School has been placed on paid administrative leave after his arrest this week on a felony charge of internet stalking of a child. Authorities accused Barry Gebhart, 50, of attempting to set up a sexual encounter with a detective posing online as a 14-year-old girl. Gebhart was arrested Tuesday after he arrived at a Rogers shopping mall for a meeting set up by undercover officers, ...

Cyclones dominate on Senior NightThe Russellville Lady Cyclone volleyball team earned the No.3 seed in the Class 6A state tournament in Jonesboro with a 25-14, 25-20, 25-11 victory over the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday inside Cyclone Gymnasium on Russellville’s Senior Night. Russellville (21-9, 8-6 7A/6A-Central Conference) defeated Greenwood last year in the Class 6A state title match at Greenwood High School. “Our stats were pretty even,” Russellville head coach Cindy...

River Valley Glance: Perspective is vitalWith playoff season around the corner I think it’s important to remember that the student-athletes we root for are still kids. They’re high schoolers who have busy lives outside football and responsibilities besides throwing touchdowns, making tackles or kicking field goals. They’re high school kids. They’re not professionals. It’s fun to watch the teams compete, but please, remember to have a little perspective. A losing season isn’t the end ...

RJHS East wins conference crownThe Russellville Junior High Eastside Lady Whirlwinds claimed the River Valley Conference championship Saturday after winning the conference tournament at Whirlwind Gymnasium. Eastside topped the defending conference champion Russellville Westside Lady Whirlwinds in the title match. “These girls have given me everything I’ve asked for this season,” East head coach Cindy Williams said. “It’s the sort of season that comes very, very rarely and i...

Clarksville topples GreenbrierCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville Panthers took out the Greenbrier Panthers 36-29 on Friday at Metheny Field. It was a win Clarksville head coach Michael Banning said could have gone either way. “No doubt it was exciting,” he said. “I was very proud of our young men. It was one of those games that comes down to who has the ball last. I was proud of the whole team. We had a lot of people contribute in this ball game.” Panthers (3-4, 2-2 5A West) qu...

Sand Lizards celebrate homecoming with 54-7 victoryDARDANELLE — It only took one half for the Dardanelle Sand Lizards to beat the Waldron Bulldogs on their homecoming. The Sand Lizards (5-2, 2-2 4A-4 Conference) scored on every possession of the first half and were up 41-0 by the close of the second quarter. When it was over, Dardanelle won 54-7 on Friday at Keenan Field. For Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price, the win not only snapped a two-game losing streak, but bolstered confidence for his...

Pottsville Apaches defeat Dover Pirates 50-14DOVER — The Pottsville Apaches used big plays and a stingy defense to defeat the Dover Pirates 50-14 in conference play Friday night at Jack Berry Field. “We came out tonight and really executed in all phases,” Pottsville head coach Bryan Rust said. “We were able to run the ball and Michael (Perry) had a good night throwing the ball, and our defense kept them from getting anything going all night.” Pottsville’s first score of the night was set...

Missed opportunities doom Lamar in loss to CharlestonLAMAR — The Charleston Tigers proved to be too much for the Lamar Warriors Friday as the No. 1 team in Class 3A cruised to a 31-6 victory over Lamar. Rain plagued much of the night leading to several dropped passes and fumbles during the game. Lamar had multiple opportunities to cut into the Charleston lead, but turnovers or costly penalties deep in its own territory halted several drives. Lamar (6-1, 3-1 3A-4) jumped out to an early lead on i...